Effect of health education on knowledge and attitude of menopause among middle-age teachers

Abstract

Background: Adequate knowledge and positive attitude toward menopause are important for women to tackle changes related to menopause. Even though all women experience menopause at some stage in their life, teachers face more difficulties more than other female employees due to the nature of their roles do. In Eritrea, menopause has been given little attention hence gaps exist concerning women's knowledge, attitude, and the effects of health education on the same subject. This study aimed at assessing the effect of health education on knowledge and attitude of menopause among middle-aged teachers in elementary, junior, and secondary schools of Asmara, Eritrea.

Method: A semi-experimental design with pre-intervention, immediate post-intervention, and three-month follow up test was used in this study. The data was collected from 99 middle age teachers using stratified random sampling. The intervention was done using lectures, group discussions, brochures, and handouts. Data on socio-demographics, knowledge, and attitude was collected using a pre-designed questionnaire. The effect of educational training at the three-time points was evaluated by repeated measure ANOVA using SPSS version 22.

Results: The mean scores of correct knowledge at pre-intervention, immediate post-intervention, and 3-months follow-up were 12.3/22 (SD = 3.06), 17.3/22 (SD = 3.21), and 16.5/22 (SD = 2.52) respectively. A significant difference in scores of knowledge at the three-time points was observed due to the educational intervention with a statistical significance of (p < 0.0001). Post-hoc analysis revealed that knowledge score immediately after intervention was significantly greater than that of pre-intervention (p < 0.0001), and 3-months follow-up (p = 0.004). The mean scores of attitude at the three-time points were 27.9/45 (SD = 5.14), 28.3/45(SD = 5.25), 28.32/45(SD = 5.12). The educational intervention had brought a change in the mean scores of attitude at the three-time point with a statistical significance of (p < 0.0001). Post-hoc analysis revealed that attitude scores at immediate post-intervention were also significant (p = 0.001) with the 3-months follow up at (p < 0.0001) were higher than that of pre-intervention.

Conclusion: The structured educational intervention was beneficial to the studied women in intensifying their knowledge and tuning them toward a positive attitude. Hence, proper health education programs regarding menopause are strongly recommended.

Keywords: Attitude; Health education; Knowledge; Menopause.